Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Who is Christopher Tappin and what does it say about US law?

Christopher Tappin refused bail by American court

The wife of a retired British businessman extradited to the United States has said it is “heartbreaking” that he will be kept behind bars while he awaits trial on arms dealing charges.

Elaine Tappin said it was an “outrage” that her 65-year-old husband Christopher was denied bail last night in El Paso, Texas.

Judge Robert Castaneda ruled Tappin must remain in custody after US prosecutors told the federal court in El Paso, Texas, he may be a “danger to the community” if released.

He agreed that measures could be imposed to ensure Tappin is monitored if released, but said a discrepancy in Tappin's financial statement led to him being denied bail.

Daryl Fields, a spokesman for the US Attorney's office in the western district of Texas, added that Tappin was denied bail because he “posed a flight risk”.

Tappin, who faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted of trying to sell batteries for surface-to-air missiles to Iran, has spent 23 hours a day locked in his cell at the Otero County detention centre in New Mexico.

Mrs Tappin went on: “He's not a danger to anyone - he's a 65-year-old granddad.

“How is he supposed to prepare a proper defence when he's only been allowed to communicate with his lawyers from behind a plastic screen?”

Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who has known Tappin for almost 40 years, added he was “absolutely appalled” that he had been denied bail, “but even more so that the Home Secretary has done absolutely nothing to help the situation”.

In a brief telephone conversation with his wife on Sunday night, Tappin told her he was shackled and confined in a cage for five hours before his bail hearing on Friday, a family spokeswoman said.

The president of the Kent Golf Union was escorted into the courtroom wearing an orange-red prison jumpsuit, with his feet and one hand shackled.

US marshals allowed the other hand to remain free so he could use a cane he needs to walk.

Assistant US attorney Greg McDonald asked the judge to keep Tappin in jail for the remainder of the proceedings.

“The risk is not that he'll punch somebody in the face, but through the use of a computer and the knowledge he has, he might pose a danger to the community,” Mr McDonald said.

Tappin has no ties to the US and failed to disclose to court officials his frequent travels to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, he added.

But Kent Schaffer, representing Tappin, said if released, his client would have complied with any restrictions imposed by the court and his family was ready to post bail of 50,000 dollars (£31,600).

His trial will take place before US District Judge David Briones in El Paso, but no date has been set.

The case has fuelled the row over the fairness of the extradition treaty between the UK and the US.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC said Tappin's extradition highlighted problems with the treaty which were not “readily curable”, warning that many Britons were left uneasy when faced with the seemingly harsh and disproportionate sentences in the American justice system.

Other critics of the 2003 treaty, including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, have described it as “one-sided”, but an independent review by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Scott Baker last year found it was both balanced and fair.

Tappin's extradition follows an investigation which started in 2005 when US agents asked technology providers about buyers who might have raised red flags.

Those customers were then approached by undercover companies set up by government agencies.

Briton Robert Gibson, an associate of Tappin who agreed to co-operate, was jailed for 24 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to export defence articles.

Gibson provided ICE agents with about 16,000 computer files and emails indicating that he and Tappin had long-standing commercial ties with Iranian customers.

American Robert Caldwell was also found guilty of aiding and abetting the illegal transport of defence articles and served 20 months in prison.

Mr Schaffer told BBC Radio 5 Live an appeal against the decision not to grant his client bail will now be launched.

“We expect that it (the appeal) will be filed some time this week and we will then get a hearing date to go back before a different judge,” he said.

59 comments:

Tappin surrendered to US marshals and was escorted to El Paso, Texas, last week after fighting extradition from the United Kingdom for two years.He's accused of trying to buy batteries for surface-to-air missiles from undercover American agents with the intention of exporting them to Iran.Two other men have been convicted in the case.

I have no idea about the merits of the case against him but there are some very troubling aspects about the case and current US legal procedures in place since the “war on terror” began.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A cybersecurity bill introduced by Republican Senator John McCain could dramatically expand the domestic reach of U.S. intelligence agencies and potentially give them massive troves of emails, civil liberties advocates said."This is a privacy nightmare that will eventually result in the military substantially monitoring the domestic, civilian Internet," said Michelle Richardson of the American Civil Liberties Union.Unlike the Democratic-led alternative supported by Majority Leader Harry Reid, the McCain bill stresses voluntary information sharing instead of regulation of critical industries by the Department of Homeland Security. McCain's bill was introduced last week.But the types of information that could be shared are broad, and the data would go to "cybersecurity centers" that specifically include the National Security Agency's Threat Operations Center and the U.S. Cyber Command Joint Operations Center.McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said such concerns were both overblown and premature.

On cars, some are predicting the US will never get back to the 17 million sales level again, that even in the good years, sales will peak around 14 million.

They cite trends in young people who have less of an affection with cars other than as basic transportation and the fact that in the big population areas people are using alternate means of transportation to get around.

Don't know if they are right.

Does anyone else notice that Blogger's new 'comments' section is a pain in the ass. The preview format doesn't even make sense.

Not all the region's economies are in the same boat, however. Bank of Thailand Gov. Prasarn Trairatvorakul said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week that after cutting interest rates twice to help the Thai economy to recover from last year's debilitating floods, the central bank will likely keep its main policy rate at 3.0% until the third quarter.

Mr. Prasarn stressed, though, that he was ready to further cut rates or raise them if the external economic situation requires it.

When one tries to do delegate projections, assuming that current voting patterns continue and taking into account various Santorum ballot access problems, one finds that Romney will probably continue to hover at a bit over 50 percent of the delegates chosen. He'll clearly be in the lead.

But it's hard to see him amassing so insurmountable a lead by mid-May so as to be able to discourage Santorum from hoping to be able to catch him at the end with a huge victory in Texas on May 29, and then big upsets in California and New Jersey on June 5.

That's what is wrong with so many people, they trust what they "read" or "understand" without any 1st hand experience.

Easy, WiO. Just jerking your chain.

However, in this case you are right. Done a lot of travelling but never to D.C. I recall there was a class trip there during high school but couldn't afford it. It amazes me that these days class trips involve cruises or trips to Paris or Cancun.

But with regard to D.C., I would be surprised if it is 'getting quite ghetto'. It may be ghetto now, but I would suspect that it is likely moving in the opposite direction.

Do I "trust" what I read? In the case of D.C., yes. It only makes sense. One, there are numerous stories saying the same thing about the gentrification there. Two, there is no doubt that per capita imcomes in the D.C. area are up. It is, I'm pretty sure, the highest in the U.S.

But three, D.C. is the black hole sucking up U.S. cash and influence. It's where the money is generated. It's where the largesse is handed out. It only makes sense the rich and beautiful or those hoping to be rich and beautiful would tend to be attracted to the place. As they move in, prices will be driven up, and those who can't afford the rent will be driven out.

Well, a redneck nerd in a bowling shirt was a-guzzlin’ LoneStar beer Talking religion and-uh politics for all the world to hear. “They oughta send you back to Russia, boy, or New York Cityone You just want to doodle a Christian girl and you killed God’sonly son.”

I said, “Has it occurred to you, you nerd, that that’s notvery nice, We Jews believe it was Santa Claus that killed Jesus Christ.” “You know, you don’t look Jewish,” he said, “near as Icould figger I had you lamped for a slightly anemic, well-dressed countrynigger.“

No, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore, They don’t turn the other cheek the way they done before. He started in to shoutin’ and a-spittin’ on the floor, “Lord, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore.”

He says, “I ain’t a racist but Aristitle Onassis is oneGreek we don’t need And them niggers, Jews and Sigma Nus, all they ever do is breed.

And wops ‘n micks ‘n slopes ‘n spics ‘n spooks are on mylist And there’s one little hebe from the heart of Texas — isthere anyone I missed ? ”

Well, I hits him with everything I had right square between theeyes. I says, “I’m gonna gitcha, you son of a bitch ya, forspoutin’ that pack of lies. If there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s an ethnocentricracist; Now you take back that thing you said ‘bout AristitleOnassis.”

No, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore, We don’t turn the other cheek the way we done before. You could hear that honky holler as he hit that hardwood floor “Lord, they sho’ ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesusanymore!” All right!

No, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore, We don’t turn the other cheek the way they done before. You hear that honky holler as he hit that hardwood floor Lord, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore.

Everybody! They ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore, They ain’t makin’ carpenters who know what nails are for. Well, the whole damn place was singin’ as I strolled right outthe door “Lord, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore!”

No, we ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore, We don’t turn the other cheek the way they done before. Well, the whole damn place was singin’ as I strolled right outthe door “Lord, they ain’t makin’ Jews like Jesus anymore!”

Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, 50 years old, an editor of a New Delhi-based, Urdu-language news agency called Media Star News and Features, was picked up by Delhi police Tuesday for interrogation and his home was searched, Mr. Kazmi's family said. Police placed him under arrest the following day.

...

Turab Ali Kazmi, Mr. Kazmi's son, said his father has previously worked as a journalist for Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency at its India bureau, and later worked out of London and Washington D.C. for several national and international news organizations.

He said his father visited Iran several times as a journalist. "But that doesn't mean he is supporting terrorism," he said.

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.